the roles we play

Toward the end of the morning I said to Ed (rather loudly) -- we have the most gendered division of labor on the planet! 

From this one sentence, you can probably tell what I was up to all morning. It included dish soap, a vacuum and a laundry basket. Ed was busy sowing seeds and chopping tree limbs into logs. 

Though it definitely sounded like a complaint and perhaps was intended as such, I'm not sure there's a solution to this. Ed immediately asked -- what would you like me to do around the house? And I answered -- not have to ask what needs to be done around the house!

I realize that this is entirely unfair. It's like asking Ed to predict what I would like to see happen here. As it is, he will always clean up after himself -- just not promptly and not as thoroughly as I would want. And so I routinely intervene.

Still, it felt like a bright sunny day should be spent outside. 

Instead, I cleaned the house. I hadn't done it last weekend and dust and wood debris accumulate like you wouldn't believe. On the upside, I read yesterday that the magic number on a Fitbit stepcounter is 7000. This is what you should aim for each day for optimal health. You can go up to 10,000 steps if you like, but the sweet spot is 7000 and anything beyond 10,000 is worthless and maybe even counterproductive. Cleaning the house gets you rapidly to 7000, so yay! I am meeting my goals without even trying.

Breakfast in beautiful weather, outside.

I also had a Zoom call with my Polish friends right about at noon. This was exquisite! Everything in Poland is so normal and in westerns Europe, where some of their kids and grandkids live -- rapidly approaching normal. They have large family gatherings. They go to concerts. They go on vacations. The vaccination rates in western Europe are remarkably high and though Poland is more like us, the virus hasn't surged there yet. It may, but for the time being they have had a wonderful summer of near normal conditions. Masked, sure, but not so vulnerable, given their low rates of infection.

You might think that this would make me somewhat envious as we worry about kids and schools and social gatherings here. It doesn't. I am happy for anyone who can live relatively worry free right now. And it's wonderful to hear stories of families and friends enjoying time together. I was uplifted by it all!

In the afternoon, I pick up a distressed Snowdrop. She'd left her favorite sweater inside the school. Normally, this would be an easy deal: we go back inside and retrieve the sweater. But these are not normal times. Doors are designated for particular groups of kids going out. People from the outside must stay on the outside. A very simple problem requires strategy and care. 

Success!

And by now, she is really ready to plop down on the couch and exhale. A long week, a long day. Remarkable what a bowl of fruit and a good book or two will do!

In the evening, I retrieve my pal, my long missing camera from a drugstore (FedEx dropped it off there) some miles away from me. Snowdrop and I go together: she is dying for an adventure! It is a sad day indeed when a drive to a drugstore constitutes an adventure, but hey! I love her company. We play a game called "name that lake!" 

My camera and I are reunited after a two month separation! Now all I need is a trip to some far away place so that I can get excited about using it again! 

In the meantime though, I am loving, absolutely loving these cool evenings, following brilliant warm early fall days. Staying home could not have come at a nicer time!